Take Your Chances
by DarkFlameOfTheMonkey
Summary: Seven robot monkeys were brought into this universe to protect and serve. They leave behind seven lives, seven stories, and seven legacies. Ficling for every robot monkey even Mand.&Silver Ant.; length widely varies. REVIEW!Celebratory of SRMTHFG's return
1. One and Only: Blurred Vision

**A/N: Yay, back to SRMTHFG fanfiction! _WHICH IS REALLY GOOD, BECAUSE SUPER ROBOT MONKEY TEAM HYPER FORCE GO! IS BACK ON AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION!!!!! I watched my first episode in nearly two years, it was Pit of Doom! The catch is (yeah, there's a catch) SRMTHFG is only on the new 7 HD channel, which I am lucky enough to have available on the TV tuner. Man, I am SO glad we bought that new big screen high definition TV last year._**

**Little thing that's been bugging me for a while, probably induced by the Mandarin craze I've been going through as of late. Then it just **_**had**_** to spawn a series of fic-lings to follow... Mandarin has a few OOC thoughts, but hey, he's going evil, isn't he?**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, no. I don't own SRMTHFG. That applies for this whole story. Quit bringing that up, will ya? Stupid keyboard I'm compelled to type a disclaimer into...**

Blurred Vision

It was late in the afternoon. People began to contemplate what they were going to have for dinner and perhaps, if time allowed, what movie to rent from the shop for the night. It was perfectly normal. The sky was changing colour with the oncoming sunset, and as was a regular sight, the six robot monkeys were making their patrols.

Mandarin was on a shift with Antauri, which always was a small pleasure. The flight, the view, the talk and discussion, sometimes even jokes. It was all good. It was a grand thing to sweep your eyes slowly across the cityscape for anything that looked odd, and yet at the same time take in every blissful picture and be able to enjoy it. While Otto and Sprx, sometimes even Nova, wished it would be over quickly, Mandarin took pleasure in his patrol.

The crime rate in Shuggazoom City had kept at a steady rate for the past few years. It always had been exceptionally low for a city with that high a population. So it was an odd surprise for Mandarin's senses, enhanced by robotics and the Power Primate, to pick up the small sound of tinkling glass or metal and something heavy dragging along concrete.

Antauri saw it before Mandarin could locate the sound. Without a word or signal between them, they dropped their altitude and landed lightly amidst the city buildings. What they saw was pretty simple, not at all exceedingly unusual. Across the street the two monkeys had landed on, two young men lifted a small television set out of a shop display window. Easy pickings.

Perhaps it is now that you should learn that though amazingly smaller than early televisions, the latest set on Shuggazoom was a good deal heavier. The modern family loves extra gadgets in whatever they buy, but that makes it a bit pricey. It required both of the men to carry it. Mandarin could understand why people would be tempted.

_I must get one... At least _someday._ For a day off maybe..._ Mandarin mused. He looked on as the thieves took careful measures to eliminate traces of their identity, which included stealing the security camera footage in the shop but not at all damaging it. _Go boys!_

Of course, the black monkey didn't hesitate to catch them in their moment of vulnerability while both of the young men were occupied carrying the television set. Mandarin was about to follow Antauri's charge, but something in his occular orbs must have been malfunctioning, because the sharpness of Mandarin's vision suddenly and simply disappeared.

The orange monkey tripped in this unexpected loss of sight, groping around for a minute. He was puzzled and disoriented when his clear sight did not return when he rubbed his eyes. Colours had given way to an endless amount of grey, black and white dotting his scope of vision in random spaces. Mandarin looked up, but only vague shapes signified objects and people.

What was all this? The orange money clutched his head. Something was there in his mind, and he felt something in his chest, in his heart. What was going on?

Mandarin must have stayed on his knees for longer than a minute, because his friend walked to him and helped the orange monkey up, the latter wildly grabbing at air for support. "What are you doing, Mandarin? The thieves have been detained, the police are here. I think we can go home now, our shift is over. Just as well too. You should be getting back to the Super Robot, you look so very pale and sickly, Mandarin."

"Wha- What?" Mandarin blinked, then a few times more. "What happened?"

Antauri frowned and grabbed his friend's arm. "Are you feeling all right, Mandarin?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Mandarin said calmly. "Are you sure our shift is over? What time is it?" He turned his head upward to try and see the city clock. He could see a bit of colour again, perhaps it was just a lapse in his sight functions. But one thing he noticed, he could no longer distinguish between the sunlight and shadow...

"Are you certain you're okay?"

"Antauri, I feel perfectly fine." Mandarin insisted.

But he had to wonder, why could he not see?


	2. Second Chance: Who Else?

**A/N: I've never tried writing an entire fic from Antauri's POV, so bear with me. I remember creating elaborate sentences in my mind and when I get to the computer it's all gone. Why does that always happen?**

Who Else?

My story is one that cannot start again, because it has already ended. And once a story ends, you can't resume where you left off, can you? No. You can only begin another. Let us use unique similes here, and say that death is like the irritating little brother that tears out all the blank pages in your notebook. Can you squash the remainder of your story onto the back cover? Try it and see. It will not be a pleasant ending.

You can only start life again. Reborn, rejuvenated! That is the only option to death. If you're lucky you will be improved, you will understand life better because you have experienced its opposite. Very few are lucky enough to start over, and out of those few not a large fraction are able to be improved without turning to evil for the means.

I was lucky.

Oh, very much so. I was extremely fortunate that I had people who loved me and wanted me back. And here I am, back. Who else in this universe gets a chance at this? Who else obtains a second life? Who is lucky enough to have another chance to return, to make amends for mistakes and to alter the world with every second you breathe?

What goes through the mind of a stern teacher when he gives a student another chance to do well? What compels a woman to let her cheating partner back into her home and life? Will those people given a second chance be changed? I know that these things are ordinary, but who else gets a second chance at _life_ itself? A second chance is rare, and unimaginably precious. Who else has gotten one? Who?!

I changed. That is why my story can't start again. I understand now. I understand death, and thus I understand the life that I am once again living. And I understand that I am lucky. I am here again with my friends, and I am making a difference. I am lucky. So very lucky.

Because who else can do that?


	3. Three Strikes: And You're Out

**A/N: The ****cliché**** Spova and Sprx angst. I've lost count of how many I've done of these... This one is third season finale-based, so I suppose it's a little outdated, eh? Quotes taken from A Ghost in the Machinder, Wormhole and Belly of the Beast. For those that do not know of T-ball, softball or baseball, this will get confusing.**

And You're Out

Three strikes, that's all you get. Three chances to hit the ball right. Some freeze up. But swing, and you might hit a home run.

Usually I say things that are pretty meaningless. But one day I swung, just once.

_"And Nova? Nova?"_

The world changed that moment I swung. _I _changed. I now knew that I wanted something. I wanted to get this run.

_"Yeah, Sprx?"_

My hands were sweating; I was sweating all over. My head felt tingly, like I was about to faint. I couldn't grip the bat right.

_"I, I just have to say... I-"_

But I swung anyway. I fumbled.

_"Sprx!!!"_

That was my first strike.

I rested and waited. I swung again. It was haltingly done, difficult to get it out.

_"Hey, are you still all sensitive over what I said?"_

_"Oh, what? You mean when you called me a..._coward?_"_

I nearly dropped the bat. The pressure was strong, very strong.

_"_Wait,_ wait, wait wait. I never called you a coward. But seriously... There's something I wanna say."_

_"Just save it. Like Chiro said, we don't have time for this."_

Another strike. This stuff was tough. Tricky business, this sort of thing. I'll tell anyone. It's hard.

And then the big moment came. The third swing. Swing and miss, it's all over. Swing the bat and hit the ball, you get to run.

_"It's a miracle I made it."_

I swung.

_"Nova, I just wanted to say... I'm glad I have you."_

It was close. The ball grazed the bat.

_**"As my friend."**_

But I missed.

_**"...we don't have time for this..."**_

Three strikes. Three strikes...

_**"Sprx!!!"**_

... And you're out.


	4. Four Walls: Face On

**A/N: This one's one's pretty much pointless. Yeah.**

Face-On

Four walls, a floor and a ceiling make a room. Four walls make an enclosure. Four walls and no opening...invoke terror.

Inside this particular room was a blue monkey and a cockroach in a plastic take-away box. Those that don't know, you should learn now that Mr Hal was a bit overly frightened of cockroaches. Suppose that's an oxymoron, isn't it? Gibson was afraid of anything with more than two legs, really. At the moment the blue monkey was facing one of the walls, hugging himself and refusing to look at the box sitting on a raised platform in the middle of the room.

Gibson had a simple goal. Kill the cockroach. It was _meant_ to be easy. Gibson silently cursed his friends' insistence to help him get over his fear. He closed his eyes and lifted his right drill. He fired without turning to face the cockroach, its feelers innocently brushing the wall of the container. Firing at such close range to the wall, the metal wall deflected Gibson's shot. He had no idea precisely _what_ he fired, only ducking just _barely_ in time as the shot ricocheted off the wall, over his head and into the one opposite, leaving a large splatter of a pale green substance on the metal.

Gibson opened his eyes as Nova yelled at him from outside the training room. _Oh,_ he thought worriedly. Cooling gel. So that was what he had fired. Nova looked down at the blue monkey from the high window, screaming that she wouldn't be cleaning that up. Gibson berated himself, muttering at his feet. Really, firing a shot without checking where he was firing and what? It seemed more like something Sprx would do.

The blue monkey turned back to the wall. Maybe he was onto something here. The corner of the wall, maybe? It was worth a try. Gibson swept his eyes around the room, checking where the shot would travel to at each contact with the walls. Eventually he had to look at the cockroach in the centre of the room, and the sight of it crawling around the box nearly made him horrendously regurgitate what was left of his lunch. Gibson changed the matter of his shot into the most rubbery and elastic material he could find, taking a few deep breaths. He quickly faced his wall again, firing a shot at the decided top corner of the wall.

The effect was rather impressive, causing Gibson to curl up into a ball on the floor and Sprx and Nova to let off a string of shocked yells and curses. Gibson's shot ricocheted off many points in the room, but when it came to the time when Gibson thought it would strike the cockroach container, the shot only skimmed the top. The box moved a bit, a corner hanging over the edge of the platform.

This was not working. The blue monkey considered a simpler approach. Gibson drew a straight line from the container centred in the room to his wall. He pinpointed a spot, took aim and fired his third shot. The rubber-like substance bounced off the wall and in a line to the cockroach. It knocked the plastic box off the platform and cracked it a bit, but otherwise did no harm to the animal inside.

That was all the cockroach needed. It turned on its side and wriggled through the largest crack and out onto the training room floor. Gibson screamed at the sight while Nova screamed through the glass window. Gibson knew that his previous technique wasn't working and never would.

"Dangit Gibson, just face it! Face it head-on!" Nova called to the blue monkey. "DO IT!"

_Just do it. Face facts, face the music. Face your fears. Do it face-on. Maybe that's good advice, _Gibson thought resignedly. The cockroach was crawling closer. Gibson screwed up his eyes, but then opened them again. Not looking wouldn't help him, he realized that now. He changed his drill shot to a laser. _Alright, little cockroach. Time to die._ He fired, and there was nothing left of the beetle save a dark smudge on the floor and a damaged take-away box.

Gibson shuddered. "Nova? Can you let me out? I'm starting to feel like that cockroach inside here."


	5. Fifth Finger: The Revolutionary Step

**A/N: Oh carpfish I can't think of anything for Otto, who's supposed to be next! Whyyyy!**

The Revolutionary Step

The question was _ever _so simple. The question was made up of three words, uttered while sprawled in his host's armchair.

"Why a girl?" Captain Shuggazoom asked.

The Alchemist laughed and thrust his index finger into the air. Captain Shuggazoom wondered why his friend did that so often these past few days. He seemed a lot..._happier,_ though Captain Shuggazoom didn't know exactly why.

"And why not, Captain?" the Alchemist replied mildly. His mismatched eyes were shining with a sort of..._excitement; _Captain Shuggazoom did not ever recall seeing that look in his friend before.

Captain Shuggazoom waved his arm at the five multi-coloured monkeys, all engaged in their activities on the floor of the Alchemist's laboratory. "Wouldn't it make the boys a little competitive? Human nature, after all. Or monkey nature, as the case here is. The girl would distract them. You can't get rid of that instinct from an animal's mind." the Captain reasoned. "No amount of robotics is going to undo the primal desire for a mate. Evolution sure hasn't, and it's not going to."

The Alchemist gave a small frown. "I still haven't thought about dealing with that yet. But nevertheless... Despite your protests against this, my friend, I'm going to do it!" Captain Shuggazoom saw that sheen in the Alchemist's eyes again. The scientist gestured to the same robot monkeys Captain Shuggazoom had used for his reasoning. "Look at them. They are a revolution! A revolution of science, of humanity's abilities reflected in a team of monkeys. The last one, this girl will be a revolution by _herself! _Do you doubt what the female can do, good Captain?"

Captain Shuggazoom put a long finger to his temple in thought. "I assume you're not making her a damsel in distress-type."

The Alchemist laughed again. "If my monkeys are going to defeat _him,_ they're going to need her. She's going to be different! Completely unique! Captain Shuggazoom, I am going to make her _wonderful!_" the Alchemist proclaimed.

"Different? How so?" Captain Shuggazoom inquired with arched eyebrows.

"Like a thumb is different to the other fingers on the hand, my good friend. Not including the joints near the wrist, a thumb has two joints in the digit from which to move. The other four fingers have three. Do you see?"

Captain Shuggazoom looked at his hand. "Different?" he said again. "And how would this make the female monkey wonderful?"

"I'm going to explain that now. The thumb is an apposable finger. I'm sure you know that. It bends in a different way to the other fingers when you clench your fist. Try to touch together the soft part of your fingertips on your index and middle fingers with each other. You can't do it, can you?" the Alchemist crowed.

The Captain allowed a small sideways grin to appear on his face. "You'd better not be mocking me."

"Not at all, Captain! Not at all. Now do the same with your thumb and index. See, the thumb is able to touch any of the fingers on your hand. The thumb is placed opposite to the fingers!" the Alchemist exclaimed triumphantly.

Captain Shuggazoom moved his fingers, touching each one to his thumb. "I still don't see how the girl is going to be like a thumb."

"Remember what I said about the joints? Keep in mind I'm not counting the joints beneath the top of the palm, only the fingers themselves. Four of the fingers have three joints, the thumb only has two. Does that make it weaker? Not at all! Without the thumb, most things would be impossible for you to do. It's shorter, but somehow more flexible. Now for the philosophical part."

"You know I only understand half of your philosophy." Captain Shuggazoom said. "But I suppose I'll listen anyway."

The Alchemist clenched his right hand. "A fist. Take notice of the thumb's position. Now try punching something, but remove the thumb from the fist, just leave it waving about in the air. Clayton, you know how often you need to punch things. How would it be if you had no thumb in your fist? Do you feel that the fist is somehow weaker without the thumb folding over the other fingers?

"The thumb is not weak. Different of course, but never weak. It binds the whole fist together, keeps it from falling apart. It adds strength and firmness. _That_ is how my next robot monkey is going to be! She's going to possess all the qualities of a thumb, and I'm not talking about the amount of joints she has in her body!"

"And you came up with all this just from observing your hand?" Captain Shuggazoom punched his fist into his hand with a smack, grinned and looked up at his friend. "I think she's going to be great."

The Alchemist's eyes were glittering again. "I'm going to have a daughter, Clayton."

"Yes." Captain Shuggazoom replied, wriggling his fingers. "I think I see now."

**Wow, when I reread that I was confused myself. It made sense two weeks ago...**

**If anyone's got ideas for Otto's chapter, please send them to me in one way or another. I've already got silver Antauri's ready, and all I can think of for poor Otto is a freaky dream with a cube. Why is it always Otto my inspiration runs out at...? Any assistance would be very much appreciated! In fact, I'll take any request you lot'll throw at me and find the best one. Just so long as it has something to do with the number six in some vague way. I don't really care.**


	6. Six Sides: Sealed

**A/N: Wonder why no one's talked to me, reviewed or even requested for the next chapter? Well, sat down one morning and wrote this. It takes place prior to Chiro's discovery of the Super Robot, where Otto is still quite young and wondering whether his family is still whole.**

Sealed

The young monkey put down the gluestick and pressed the thin, light blue paper together. He withdrew his sticky fingers and set his paper construction on the desk, leaning back into his chair to admire it.

It had taken Otto a hundred and thirty-seven minutes to make it. He started off with a sheet of A4 coloured craft paper, carefully drawing lines on the page with a ruler. When the outlines had been made, Otto started work with the colouring pencils. His illustrations improved each time he drew the picture, experience reminding him what to do _there, _and that he should change that bit _here._ Otto drew the same picture five times in total, the drawing differing only in colour. Then he picked up a pair of small scissors and furrowed his eyebrows. Steady hand movements to make the cuts. He was slowly turning the piece of paper this way, then in that direction, all the time cutting steadily with the scissors.

Then came the part with the glue. This was what would hold Otto's project together, fusing the flap of paper to this one, and another permanently joined to that one. The glue sealed the cube together, never once allowing the parts to fall away.

The finished product of Otto's work was basically a paper box. A pale blue cube of paper, what children would do in school. They'd draw out the net of a cube, then cut it out and glue the flaps on the sides together. They'd throw it around in class, bouncing it in their palms. Some would crush it between their hands as soon as the teacher turned, others would protect it and keep their creation perfect and unblemished. They'd go home and tell their parents that they'd learned about three dimensional shapes in Maths today, and that their teacher had let them make their own cube out of paper...

On five of the faces of Otto's cube was a picture of a face. They were faces that Otto knew well, he saw them every day. He had watched his friends sitting around in the main room of the Super Robot for days, taking careful note of their expressions. He stared into a mirror to study his own face. Then he went into his room and drew them onto his box. Each of his friends' faces stared out at him from the little blue cube.

Everyone knows that a cube has six faces, not only five. The top of Otto's box, the lid which he had not glued down, was blank. Almost perfect in its blankness, only a wrinkle in one corner from the glue that had accidentally been applied to it. Otto didn't like it blank. But the green monkey didn't have another face to put on it.

It was symbolic of the Monkey Team's status. They were, at the moment, incomplete. "Another will come," Antauri had told them. "The final one will come." That was when Otto had been determined to make the box.

They were a family, Otto and his friends. Nothing to bring them apart. So Otto had made his box to keep the Monkey Team's spirits high.

He'd take it in his hands and show it to them excitedly. "Look what I made!" he would say. "See, there's still another space. The Chosen One will come, just like Antauri said. And when he does, I'll draw our new friend's face onto my box. It's to show him that he's a part of our family! And it's to show _us_ that just because we're one short, we're still a family. No one can break us, just like no one can rip apart this cube. I made sure, 'cause the glue I used is special-" Antauri would nod, saying that indeed the glue that bonded the Monkey Team together _was_ special. Nova would smile, Sprx would pat him on the back and Gibson would sigh at the floor and mutter that he hoped so.

And the little green monkey would wait for the day he could draw another face onto his blue box, and his family would be whole again.

**I'm actually quite proud of this one. And I would just REJOICE it if I had a review for this story. I mean, I don't want to beg for reviews, but I **_**am**_** a fanfiction author and I need to know what I'm doing nicely on, what I could improve. What happened to the whole ****"constructive criticism"**** motto in this place? **_**There's hardly any point for me to write at all if I have no idea whether I'm doing well or if my standard is dripping down into the drainage system!**_** So, a single worthwhile review for me, please! I feel like Captain Jack Sparrow in Davy Jone's Locker, a boat but nothing to float it on and **_**no**__**bleeding wind! **_**And so I say, R & **_**R.**_


	7. Lucky Seven: The Luck Charm

**A/N: I'm feeling really giddy with the whole SRMTHFG is on 7 HD on Saturdays now... Nothing I say makes sense.**

The Luck Charm

Captain Shuggazoom sat down and leaned forward. "I have a favour to ask you."

The Alchemist cocked an eyebrow. "Of what sort?"

"I'm wondering if you could make me a monkey." the Captain said quickly.

"Clayton, they aren't supermarket toys. What do you need a monkey for?" the Alchemist inquired, his voice containing a hint of humour.

The Captain shrugged. "I'm getting old. Someone's got to keep up the entire 'protect Shuggazoom City' thing. I know you've got your monkeys and someday they'll do that. But I need a monkey to do the current work. The _now_ stuff. Even without the Skeleton King, there are things that-"

"I'm perfectly aware of that, Captain. I might manage it. If I have time." The Alchemist grinned at his friend. "What colour do you want it?"

Captain Shuggazoom smiled, knowing that his friend would go into a frenzy of designing this new monkey. "Surprise me."

"Gender?"

Captain Shuggazoom laughed. "Whatever! Please! All I'm interested in is the weapons."

The Alchemist bit his lip. "You realize I'm doing all this on sudden whims. I'm thinking about...claws, like Antauri's over there."

"Claws? Besides sheer fancy, why claws, might I ask?"

The Alchemist tilted his head. "To be honest, that was a very strong whim. Instinct. Intuition, call it what you will." He looked over to the black monkey, spending time with the others on the floor of his laboratory. "I just felt as if... I _should._"

"The monkey could be a good luck charm for the others. You're at lucky seven. The seventh monkey!" Captain Shuggazoom proclaimed dramatically. "Maybe a charm for me too. I'm not getting any younger." He chewed his lower lip. "On closer inspection, neither are you. Are you feeling alright?"

The Alchemist gave a dry laugh. "That's what everyone in the world does every second of the day. They get older!"

"You could always dye your hair and get some botox." Captain Shuggazoom joked. "Seriously, you're looking awful. What have you been doing the last couple of days?"

The Alchemist looked is friend straight in the eye. "He grows stronger. If the Monkey Team is going to beat him, they're going to need all the luck the can get." He straightened his back and sat down at a desk. "So, what colour?"

**Please R&R! My life is nothing but fanfiction, so feedback is pretty much my energy.**


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